Tucker Carlson’s misogyny draws ‘revulsion’ from the military and condemnation from the press

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Last summer, Lorenz had been the victim of a pile-on by a group of venture capitalists, leading to attempts to hack her accounts. This week, Greenwald tweeted, “she should try to find out what real persecution of journalists entails,” which, as Lorenz correctly observed, was a clear call to his followers to show her. Carlson then joined in, saying Lorenz is “at the very top of journalism’s repulsive little food chain.”

”Destroyed her life, really? By most people’s standards, Taylor Lorenz would seem to have a pretty good life, one of the best lives in the country, in fact. Lots of people are suffering right now, but no one is suffering quite as much as Taylor Lorenz is suffering,” Carlson said.

That was Tuesday night. Wednesday he returned to the subject, because attacking women journalists is one of Carlson’s favorite activities.

According to a Pew Survey, 41% of people in the U.S. have experienced some form of online harassment, often over their political views, with the more serious forms of harassment—like physical threats, stalking, and sexual harassment—becoming more common in the last few years. We don’t know the full details of what Lorenz has faced, but we do know that prominent women are especially likely to be targeted with some of the worst forms of online abuse.

The New York Times and a series of journalists defended Lorenz and condemned Carlson, but what matters to her quality of life is that Carlson and Greenwald set their followers after her.

As for the military, after Carlson ranted about “new hairstyles and maternity flight suits,” saying “Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. Military,” a series of top military leaders responded sharply. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “certainly shares the revulsion of so many others to what Mr. Carlson said,” a Pentagon spokesperson said. That revulsion was widely shared on Twitter by a series of top officers.

Carlson’s one-two punch this week, taking aim at women in the military and a women in journalism, shows how much his whole schtick is dependent on misogyny. Any way that women might have power, be it physical or through words, threatens him and he knows that his followers will respond to it as a threat. It’s disgusting, but it’s also made him one of Fox News’ top stars right now.